WIREDGOV

WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

Smaller UK companies find space for £bns in growth

UK has a thriving space & satellite community that many countries are envious about. While the big players (like Airbus, BAE & Inmarsat) are well known, 7 out of 10 organisations in the sector are SMEs, each with their own niche, making them successful and being able to thrive in a very competitive market.

Back in 2010, the UK government in conjunction with the UK space industry launched the Space Innovation and Growth Strategy (IGS), which defined a 20-year vision & strategy for the future growth of the UK space industry. A recent update of the IGS roadmap to review the progress has identified that the UK space industry is on target to achieve £40bn turnoverby 2030. Space directly supports an estimated 37,000 jobs, distributed across the UK and they are highly skilled (3 in 4 hold a higher education qualification) and highly productive (labour productivity of £140,000 – over 3‐times the UK average of £46,000).

techUK's Satellites Applications & Services conference will be held on the 2 October 2015, aimed at signposting the innovations in satellite technologies & services and their applications in the traditional and an ever expanding range of new markets. Working in conjunction with techUK's Electronics Network the conference will also incorporate a 'Space Electronics’ strand at the same time, allowing interactions across the entire value chain.

Many of WiredGov’s stakeholder departments within Central Government (including HM Treasury, Cabinet Office, Home Office, BIS and DCLG) have been working hard to deliver on the Government’s pledge that 25% of all direct and indirect central government spend should be with SMEs by 2015 but there is still a great deal more work to be done.

Against this backdrop, our Supplier Locator service has been developed specifically to embrace the SME Agenda and provide the ideal platform for SME’s to promote their services, solutions, accreditation and success stories directly to our ever increasing audience across all government and public sector verticals and Tier 1 suppliers.

We’re pleased to announce the most recent SME arrival to the Supplier Locator is…

Booking Live is a leader in the provision of online booking software to a range of local authorities and businesses in the UK. The software is proven to improve efficiency, help engage customers and increase productivity….Find out more

Why should it cost so much and take so long to access one’s ‘pension pot’?

The Treasury is launching an immediate consultation & online survey to look at what may be stopping people enjoying the benefits of increased flexibility over their pension pot. The consultation will look at how best to remove barriers and, in particular, will investigate options to address excessive charges for early exit penalties and how the process for transferring pensions from one scheme to another can be made quicker & smoother

If there is no dignity in care, people might go to Dignitas; Register & contribute

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a draft guideline to support the NHS in providing high quality & compassionate care for people who are dying. It also provides guidance about the management of some common symptoms that may be experienced at the end of life, and places the individual and their loved ones at the heart of decisions about their care.

The draft NICE guideline, which has been published for consultation, follows the abolition of the Liverpool Care Pathway, a protocol for looking after people at the end of their life. This was phased out last year after a government-commissioned review found serious failings in how the pathway was being implemented. The NICE guideline begins to provide some guidance around clinical care in the last days of life in its place.

The consultation for the draft NICE guideline will remain open until Wednesday 9 September 2015. Comments will then be reviewed before the final guideline is published for NHS use. Only organisations & groups with a registered interest in the guideline will be able to participate in the consultation, but they can register to become a stakeholder at any time during the development of the guideline. NICE expects to publish its final guideline in December 2015.

A campaign to find a new generation of councillors with a commitment to represent local residents and a passion for change was launched in Rotherham last week. The ‘Be a Councillor' campaign, led by the Local Government Association in partnership with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, is calling for local people who are enthusiastic about improving their community to stand to be a councillor in the next round of elections in May 2016.

The Local Government Association,which represents over 370 councils in England & Wales, wants more manufacturers & retailers of bulky items to voluntarily provide 'take back' services – where people can hand in their old mattresses & furniture when they buy new items. They are also urging firms to contribute to the clear-up costs – as councils have to fork out almost £50m annually. Councils dealt with 850,000 fly-tipping incidents in 2013/14 – up 20% from the previous year.

Should the cost of National Cyber Defence be classified as part of the Armed Services?

The UK government will be able to keep to its commitment to spend 2% of national income on defence through to 2020 as a result of both an annual real term increase of 0.5% a year, and significant changes in the UK’s calculation of its defence budget for NATO reporting purposes, according to a new RUSI Briefing Paper.

This has been achieved by adding several new items to the UK’s NATO return: war pensions (some £820m); contributions to UN peacekeeping (some £400m); pensions for retired civilian personnel (perhaps around £200m); part of the MoD’s income (in total, about £1.4bn). The paper suggests that maintaining the 2% commitment through to 2020 ‘is likely to require yet further adjustments in the UK’s counting methodology’.

Businesses can get an Innovation Voucher worth £5,000 to pay for an external expert to give them advice on protecting their business against cyber attacks and potential accreditation to Cyber Essentials. They can also use this advice to protect new business ideas & intellectual property in cyber security.

The Cyber Essentials programme helps organisations develop a secure platform for their business activities. They can also get accreditation to show that they’ve taken these precautions. Suppliers bidding for a government contract may need this accreditation. Since 2014, all suppliers handling certain sensitive & personal information need Cyber Essentials accreditation.

CESG, the Information Security arm of GCHQ, has responded to calls to extend its successful, UK-based Certified Professional scheme (CCP) to non-UK residents. CCP will be available as a pilot to information security professionals resident in the US, Australia, Canada & New Zealandin two of the most popular roles; the Security and Information Risk Advisor (SIRA) and the IA Architect. The pilot will run until 31 March 2016.

techUK is compiling a detailed position of the UK tech industry on cross-border portability, a key proposal in the European Digital Single Market package. Cross-border portability is a proposal that would allow UK consumers to access their content & services in another EU member state. techUK has received highest level requests from UK Government to input to the UK Government position on cross-border portability.

If you are techUK member and would like to inform techUK's position please get in touch with Laura Weidinger by Wednesday 5 August 2015. Policy proposals on cross-border portability of licenses to copyrighted content are part of the European Commission's 16 proposals for a Digital Single Market.

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) is warning the public to be wary of emails that appear to come from the Ministry of Justice or the Home Office because they may infect your computer with the TorrentLocker ransomware. The email – which does not come from any government department – contains a link or attachment which contains information about an upcoming ‘court case’.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is working on a reform programme and they want the best people to help them reach their goals. They are establishing a policy fellowship scheme to ‘widen our pool of people who contribute to making and delivering government policy’. As a Policy Fellow, you will bring a set of transferable skills developed within your ‘home’ sector or field to continue to drive these reforms. Your time could range from spending a day a week in the department for 3 or 6 months, through to a full-time secondment of up to 18 months.

Santander Cycles has teamed up with the Science Museum to offer twilight cycling tours through the museum's collections, galleries & exhibitions after hours. Taking place on 12, 13 & 14 August, the cyclists will be able to hear from curators as they take part in a VIP tour on two wheels.

The cycling festivals will be happening this summer at some of London's unique locations including ZSL London Zoo, Lambeth Palace and at riverside settings during the Totally Thames festival in early September. To find out more and for a chance to pedal around the Science Museum, enter the prize draw on the Santander Cycles website before 4 August 2015.

Organisations working with young people in lower socio-economic areas in England can apply for funding through the new Youth Social Action Fund. The Fund received £1m from the Cabinet Office, as part of the government’s pledge to support Step Up To Serve’s ‘#iwill’ campaign. The #iwill campaign aims to increase participation in youth social action (volunteering, fundraising & campaigning) by 50% by 2020. The government is encouraging charities, community interest companies and social enterprises to apply by 5pm on Friday 28 August 2015.

Communities Minister, Lesley Griffiths, is encouraging people to nominate those who make the biggest contribution to their vibrant local high streets for a new national award before voting closes on 10 August. 2015. The High Street Heroes awards are part of the Support Your High Street campaign, which showcases the vast range of shops and services available on Wales’ diverse high streets & town centres.

Government has committed to increase spending on the NHS and defence, while priorities like devolution and digital government have up-front costs – yet Whitehall is expected to find savings of up to 40%. The IfG's Daniel Thornton gives six reasons why this round of spending cuts won't be so easy.